Mahal's Blessing
by Lakritzwolf
Summary: These are just some missing pieces of the story Sacred Duty, Bleeding Heart. I put them here so that story could remain T-rated, as this one is rated M for obvious reasons. Start with Fili's and Katla's wedding night.
1. The Weddding Night

_The Wedding night, continuing with the fade to black in chapter 35 for Sacred Duty, Bleeding Heart_

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><p>Both Fili and Katla were still trying to catch up with events through another short boast of celebration, and even more so when Dís informed them that they would have the King's chambers from now on.<p>

Fili could not deny a feeling of relief upon hearing those words. As little as he could understand his uncle's change of mind, he was glad he wouldn't have to lie in the same bed with Katla on their wedding night as he had done with Ysona.

But all worries, insecurities and all confusion vanished when Fili finally closed the door behind him and he and Katla were alone at last. Carefully and respectfully they removed their crowns and put them onto a pillow on a low, carved table of stone.

"My Queen," Fili whispered as he closed his arms around Katla and pulled her close. "My lovely gemstone."  
>Katla closed her eyes and let him claim her lips in a kiss full of passion and hunger. She was gasping for breath when he released her, but so was he.<br>"Will you devour me like a wild animal?" Katla asked him with a breathless chuckle.  
>Fili buried his face into the crook of her neck and gently nipped at the skin. "No. Not this time."<p>

Katla watched Fili's face under half-lidded eyes as she pushed the heavy fur-lined leather vest from his shoulders. Her fingers traced across his skin; across his cheeks, down the neck, and followed the neckline of his tunic. Fili closed his eyes and shuddered under her gentle touch.

Both of them had to chuckle as Katla began to struggle with the buckle of Fili's heavy studded belt. She helplessly dropped her hands and with a faint smile, Fili undid the buckle and dropped the belt beside the vest. With a sigh, Katla shoved the tunic form his shoulders.

"You would think that someone would have thought of wedding garments that are less of a pest to deal with," Fili muttered softly, his eyes still closed as Katla tugged his shirt out of the waistband of his trousers.  
>"We are getting there," Katla whispered and stepped closer, leaning her head against his shoulder as she slipped her hands under the shirt.<p>

Fili exhaled sharply through his nose as her hands wandered up his back. He could feel her through the fabric of his shirt, but he wanted more. Impatiently he stepped back, pulled the shirt over his head and threw it behind him.

Katla drank in the sight of him, his well-formed muscles, the mysterious marks of dark blue ink in his skin, the faint white lines of scars, and the blond, curly hair covering his chest. She reached out and combed her fingertips through those springy curls. Fili drew in a sharp breath and drew her close again, pressing her cheek against his chest. Katla closed her eyes, rested her cheek against his skin and listened to his heartbeat, so strong, so steady, and so fast. It almost felt as if that heart was trying to break free just to get closer to her.

She leaned back and placed a hand against that beating heart. "Shh," she whispered. "Stay safely inside; I will take care of you wherever you are."

Fili took a deep, shuddering breath and leaned forward to cup her face in his hands. He gently met her lips with his.  
>"Do you have any idea how much I love you, my jewel?" he whispered against her lips.<br>"Show me," Katla whispered back, her eyes close and a smile on her lips.

Fili placed another gentle kiss onto her lips and reached around her to unwind the lacing of her bodice.

"Mahal, give me patience," he muttered through gritted teeth and with a sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a giggle, Katla turned around to make it easier for him.

When he had finally succeeded in unlacing her dress enough so he could push it off her shoulders it slid down her body in a cascade of green and golden silk to pool at her feet. He closed his arms around her again and pulled her close, this time with her back against his chest.

With a sigh that was so deep it was almost a moan, Katla lifted her arms to bury her hands into Fili's hair as he closed his arms around her and cupped her breasts with trembling hands. His beard and moustache, unbraided as they were, created a deliciously scratchy tickle on her skin as he trailed his lips up and down her neck a few times. Her nipples hardened under her lover's caress and stood out against the thin fabric of her shift, and she felt his hard groin dig into the small of her back.

"Katla..." Fili whispered against her skin and gently dug his teeth into the base of her neck. "I want you... my love..." His lips moved up to her ear, making Katla shudder as the scratchiness of his facial hair touched the sensitive skin. His voice was rough and deep. "I must have you, Katla, I must have you now."  
>"I'm not stopping you..." Katla wound out of his embrace and tugged at the lacing of her shift.<p>

As the thin, white fabric fell, uncovering her body completely to Fili's hungry eyes, Fili was already unlacing his trousers with trembling hands. He pushed them down and only then remembered his boots. With a frustrated groan he fell onto the bed and struggled frantically to get his boots off. Having achieved that he stood up again and kicked off his trousers and pants.

Katla watched him open mouthed and breathing heavily, as his eagerness to get rid of his garments did some very interesting and rather exiting things to his anatomy.

Fili didn't give her any more time for admiration once he had finally shed the last bit of his clothing, though. He all but grabbed her into a fierce embrace and kissed her, gentle and tender giving way to passionate and hungry as they finally felt nothing but skin on skin.

When Fili broke the kiss again they were both breathing heavily, and with a soft smile and hungry eyes, Fili pulled her towards the bed.

He paused, but his smile widened when he watched her take the heavy quilted blanket form the bed and place it onto the floor in front of the hearth.

"I have so many fond memories..." She knelt down and smiled. "Come and share them with me."

Fili knelt down and kissed her again, pushing her gently down as he did so. The fire in the hearth burned brightly, but they would not have felt cold had they been lying on snow.

As Katla's hands dug into his hair Fili covered her face and chest in kisses, caressing each sweet, round breast with his fingers, kissing each nipple and teasing it with his tongue until it stood hard and eager like a precious pearl against his lips.

"Fili..." Katla gasped as he released the second of the dark pink buds form his lips. "Fili please... don't make me wait any longer..."

With a shaky chuckle he leaned over her, looking at her flushed face, tousled hair and eyes clouded with lust. And at that moment, Katla reached out and buried all her fingers into his beard, combed them through the stiff golden hairs and closed them into a good grip. Fili almost yelped in surprise when she pulled him down on top of her into another hungry, messy kiss.

She didn't let go of his beard until Fili nudged her legs apart with his, and they both cried out in pleasure as their bodies finally joined, her tight heat enveloping him, his hard length filling her.

Fili moved gently at first, but there was no pain this time, only pleasure.

The world stopped existing around them as their bodies moved in the oldest dance of life, the movements set by their bodies, the rhythm beating with their hearts.

Fili heard his name coming from her lips as she clenched around him, her release so intense that she took him with her into the oblivion of climax, their cries mingling with each other's as their souls became one in an explosion of a white hot fire of lust followed by the deep throb of satisfaction afterwards.

Heavy and limp Fili collapsed on to her, and he could hear her whisper his name over and over again as her hands sifted through his hair. It took him a long time until he could move again and could finally roll off her, coming to rest on his back with a heavy groan.

Katla instantly curled up against him with her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her close with a sigh.

They might have fallen asleep for a while, their lust sated for the moment, their bodies exhausted from their lovemaking. In actual fact, none of the two knew nor cared to know how long they had been lying there when Katla sat up and placed a kiss on Fili's lips.

He forced his eyes open with a dreamy smile. "I love you..."  
>"And I love you." Her smile was soft and sensuous, making Fili wish he could just start all over again.<br>"But here, my love, can you sit up?"  
>"Whatever for," Fili muttered as he forced himself into a sitting position.<br>Katla gave him a smile that made his skin prickle. "Because there is something we should not forget, this being our wedding night."

Fili felt his throat go dry.

Katla reached for her dress and hunted through the folds of fabric for the pocket and the item she had kept hidden in it. It was a comb, a finely carved and polished comb of sycamore. Then she got up and found, to her relief, a small, flat bowl with several beads and pieces of leather string on the nightstand. Her eyelids lowered, she crawled back to where Fili sat, watching her approach with the comb and the beads, his breathing already picking up speed again.

After settling down cross legged behind him Katla reached out and ran a gentle hand down the side of Fili's face. Fili closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

Humming softly under her breath Katla worked her way through Fili's golden mane, entangling knots with her fingers and combing stand for strand until his hair was smooth to the touch and almost shiny. Still humming she proceeded to braid it, remembering when she had done it for him before.

She paused deliberately after she had finished braiding his hair, and placed a few kisses onto his shoulders as she moved around him to kneel in front of him.

Fili had his eyes closed, but she could see the large jugular vein in his neck throb in time with his heartbeat, fast and strong.

With gentle, careful moves Katla began to straighten the hairs of his beard she herself had tangled not so long ago. An occasional heavy sigh mingled with Fili's deep and heavy breaths.

A smile on her lips Katla ran the comb through his beard far longer than was necessary to smooth it, and she could see that incredulous, tiny smile appear again she had seen last time when she had put the comb down and ran her fingers through one half of his moustache to part it into strands for braiding. Her fingers worked swiftly, and as she had clasped the second bead into place, she noticed Fili shudder and lick his dry lips.

She placed a tender kiss onto those lips and with a deep, trembling breath, Fili opened his eyes again. Jade green looked into midsummer sky blue, and Fili gave her the most tender and heart-warming smile Katla had ever seen.

"I'm not done yet," she whispered under her breath.

Fili's smile did not change, but he swallowed hard when she reached out again. This time she took three thin strands on the left side of his chin and braided each of them separately about halfway down to join the three into one braid for the rest of the length. She fastened a bead to the end of that braid, and without meeting Fili's eyes, repeated the same process on the other side.

But when she finally looked at her love again, she was all but shocked to see him in tears. They brimmed in his eyes and painted a moist line down his cheeks, to vanish as glistening beads into the hair of his beard she had just so lovingly braided.

"Fili, my love..." She placed both hands on his cheeks and touched his forehead with hers. "What is wrong? Why did I make you cry?"  
>Fili closed his arms around her with a soft sob and buried his face into her hair. "My love." His voice was unsteady and husky. "My love, you did not make me cry. I just... I am just so happy I could burst."<p>

Katla closed her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Make love to me again," she whispered.

Without another word, Fili shoved her gently back into the folds of the quilt.


	2. The Forges of Erebor

_Happens at some point between chapter 36 and chapter 37. And I just wrote this for fun and because. Because sweaty forge-Fili. Enjoy._

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><p>The hour was growing late but neither Katla nor Fili felt quite ready for sleep yet. They were comfortably settled in the large bed, wearing nothing but their skin, their backs against the headrest, and Fili had one arm around Katla, who rested her head on his shoulder, while he enjoyed a pipe full of Golden Horfindel.<p>

"Fili?" Katla said suddenly into the silence.  
>"Hm?"<br>"I just realised something."  
>"What is it, love?"<br>"Before our wedding, your mother told me of the cave... the cave with the pillar. She told me that Durin himself was born in that cave."

"And what about it?" Fili lazily sent a smoke ring upward.  
>"Well, I heard other legends about Durin, namely that he was born in the forges of Erebor. Do you know which one is true?"<p>

The pipe froze in mid-air. Fili blinked a few times and looked at Katla with a shrug. "To be honest..."

"You don't know?" Katla sat up and knelt. "And you of the line of Durin?"  
>"How am I supposed to know if all the legends are true?" Fili chuckled and put his pipe down. "Why does it bother you so much?"<br>"It doesn't bother me." Katla leaned forward, bringing her face closer to his. "I was just wondering..."  
>"Wondering what?" Fili crossed his hands behind his back.<br>"Wondering if the legends are really not contradictory after all. What if they just got mixed up a bit?"  
>Fili chuckled again. "Tell me your thoughts."<p>

Katla licked her lips. "I was just thinking, what if Durin was indeed born in that cave? I mean..." She frowned. "I have given birth once, and it was bad enough in a bed. But in a forge?With all that noise and dirt and steam... I can't imagine any woman willingly doing it."

"Durin's mother can't have been like any other woman." Fili lowered one arm and toyed with a few strands of Katla's hair.  
>"Absolutely. And that's why I thought... well, maybe he was born in that cave, but he was... conceived in the forges?"<br>Fili blinked a few times as he stared straight ahead. "That makes more sense than any other explanation I have heard so far."

Seemingly satisfied with her train of thoughts, Katla rested her head against Fili's bare shoulder again.

But after a moment, she trailed a fingernail down between his pectorals. "Fili...?"  
>Fili inhaled slowly. "Yes?"<br>"I have not seen the forges yet."  
>"Well I'm sure we could..." Very slowly, Fili turned his head to look at Katla who was giving him a sweet, <em>almost<em> innocent smile. "...oh."

Katla lowered her eyes and chewed her lower lip.

"You want to see the forges of Erebor, hm?" Fili put a gentle forefinger under her chin and lifted her face.  
>Katla smiled at him under lowered lids. "I'd love to."<br>"Who am I to deny that?" Fili laughed softly. "The forges have always been my favourite place. Second only to one."  
>"And that is?" Katla's smile widened as Fili pulled her closer.<br>"Right here beside you, my gemstone." He kissed her then, and felt her smile against his lips.

**x-x-x**

Shortly afterwards they were dressed and on their way downwards into the mountain, heading for the forges. At this hour it was unlikely anyone would be still working, or already working, as it was. The few times Fili could remember having been there at this hour he had always been alone.

Katla clung to his arm as they entered the forges, and he had to admit he enjoyed her wide-eyed admiration as they passed the mighty furnaces that never rested. And in silence, he thanked Mahal for their noise.

They passed several of the large furnaces before heading for another section of the forge, where all the small furnaces and anvils and workbenches stood. There was no one here, either, and Fili could feel his heartbeat quicken despite not really knowing if Katla really had meant what he thought she did, what he would have wanted to think.

"This is where I usually work," Fili said as they halted at the last workplace in the far end of the large hall. "And this is the last piece I was working on." He took the finished sword that only lacked wrapping around the heft to be finished. "I want to give it to my brother for Durin's day."

Katla touched the blade with a reverential look on her face. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

Fili could not suppress the guilty pleasure of pride washing over him, but then he put the blade down again and cupped Katla's face in his hands. "So are you," he whispered before he claimed her lips.

"Show me how you work," Katla begged as he had released her from the kiss. "Let me see if you look like your forefathers labouring in the forges to build this place."

Fili smiled and shook his head, but found himself unable to resist that plea. He took off his shirt and tunic and put on the heavy leather apron. A few practised movements had the forge going as he pumped the bellows with his foot, and after a moment of thought, he selected a small iron billet that he pushed into the coals to heat, thinking that it was just as fine if she only wanted to watch him work.

"What will you be doing?"  
>"I will make Frerin a sword. That should be the right size for him."<p>

When the iron was glowing he took it out with his tongs, placed it on the anvil and brought his hammer down. After the first few strikes he had quite forgotten that he had an audience, already lost in the rhythm of hammer and anvil.

It wasn't until he felt the gentle touch of a hand on his left arm that he remembered that someone else was here with him. He dropped the hammer and gave Katla a sheepish grin. But Katla ran her finer across the muscles of his arm and met his eyes. "I would love to try that, but I doubt that I could even lift that hammer, let alone do anything useful with it."

"Honestly?" Fili felt a grin spread on his face. "You would want to try smithing?"  
>"I would." Katla shrugged. "But as I said..."<br>"Come here, love." Fili stepped back from the anvil and removed the apron. He gave it to Katla and tied it behind her back. "Now stand here, and I help you."

Standing directly behind her, he guided her left hand with his left one to hold the tongs, and her right hand with the hammer with his right one.

"Let the hammer do the work for you," he said to her as he guided her hand up. "It's heavy to lift, but as you bring it down, it's that weight that does the work, more than your muscles."

The hammer fell, and a few sparks flew away from the glowing iron. A few times Fili guided her hand, and a few times after that, she managed to do it alone.

But when he took her hand again to correct her stance, he felt her dig her backside into his groin.

"I am not sure if this is the right time or place," he whispered into her ear after leaning forward.  
>"I'm sorry, my love." Katla chuckled and turned her head to kiss his chin. "Your body does that to me."<br>"And your body, my jewel, has already done quite a few things to me as it is." Fili nipped her earlobe. "Shall we continue or should we just... retire?"  
>"Why don't we just... proceed?" Katla took the hammer again and weighed it in her hand.<p>

"As you wish." Fili's thoughts were tumbling a little, and Katla's backside still digging into his groin wasn't helping that fact. He brought the hammer down with a mildly frustrated grown.  
>"Katla, I promised Frerin a sword..."<br>"And I promised him a baby brother," Katla gave back, letting go of the hammer.  
>"Mahal damn me, woman!" Fili laughed out loud and tossed hammer and glowing iron to the ground.<p>

It took only moments for him to unlace his trousers and free his already eagerly throbbing manhood after he had rid Katla of the leather apron. He hiked up her skirts rather unceremoniously and noticed at the edge of his consciousness that Katla was already gripping the edge of the anvil to steady herself. It was all getting too much and Fili let himself go.

One grip and a jerk and he had torn the front of her dress, bearing her breasts and closing his calloused fingers around them with a lustful hum, eliciting a couple of small, needy moans from her. Then he bent her over the anvil and entered her body in one smooth motion, and discovered she was more than ready for him.

With her bare breasts against the metal of the anvil that was still warm from the glowing iron and completely in Fili's grip Katla held on to the anvil as Fili now set another rhythm that produced quite a different set of sounds than the ringing of metal on metal; yet the sounds of flesh hitting bare flesh and the ones that escaped them were all but drowned out by the roaring of the furnaces.

Katla felt his fingers dig into her flesh as he neared his closure, and when he did, he finished with deep, hard thrust that pushed her over the edge with him and made her cry out his name.

For a long time, neither of them moved as they just tried to catch their breath back and emerge again from the boneless state of post-coital bliss. When Fili finally stepped away from her she let herself fall against his body and he caught her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"What happened to that shy, young girl I met in that lonely hut?"  
>Katla chuckled. "I guess she grew up and realised how much she wants you."<br>"Really? I couldn't have guessed."

They shared a laugh and Katla turned around to embrace him. Fili closed his arm around her and sighed. "I'm sorry about your dress."

"I guess I will have to borrow your fur vest on our way back," Katla muttered against his bare chest.  
>"And what would we have done had someone chanced upon us?"<br>Katla didn't open her eyes. "We would have told him to leave us alone to do our duty for the line of Durin."  
>Fili laughed softly into her hair. "If that is the duty that awaits me from now on, I'll do it gladly."<p>

Katla chuckled against his bare skin.


	3. Alone at last

_**Nothing M-rated to see here! Just a bit of fluff.**_  
><em><strong>My thanks to Silhouettes of Starlight for giving me this idea!<strong>_

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><p>It had been a tedious day for Fili, and he was all the more delighted to find his brother visiting when he came back to his own halls.<p>

Another delight was his son, who threw himself at Fili with a scream of joy.

"_Adad_!"  
>Fili withstood the impact and picked his son up to throw him into the air and catch him again. The boy's squeals of glee were as delightful as they were ear grating.<br>"Again!Again, _Adad_!"  
>Fili was happy to oblige and repeated throwing him until they were both out of breath. Katla watched this with a smile, and Kili could hardly contain his laughter.<p>

Still grinning himself Fili settled the boy on his hip and Frerin then clung to him like a burdock.

"Evening, brother." Fili nodded at Kili.  
>"How was your day?" Katla asked and offered her arms to Frerin who emitted a sound of indignation and clung even more to Fili's shirt.<br>"Tedious." Fili shifted Frerin in his arms and walked towards the armchairs at the hearth. He sat down and Frerin settled comfortably in his lap.

"Thranduil has sent another envoy," Fili said and toyed with a strand of Frerin's hair. "By my beard, I'll never understand how he actually came to be Erebor's ally in the past."  
>"I bet a lot of dwarrow have asked themselves that question after what happened during Smaug's attack." Kili pulled a footstool over to the hearth and sat down on it, offering the other chair to Katla who sat with a thankful nod. "Can't have been that much of an alliance anyway if it managed to break over a couple of gemstones." Then he stretched out his legs and lit himself a pipe.<br>"You're right." Fili shook his head as he looked at his brother. "And now I have to deal with him, as well. I swear, sometimes I have the feeling Thorin only gave me the crown so he could be finally free of that bothersome creature."

Kili chuckled and, after looking at his brother with his arms full of Frerin, offered Fili his pipe. Fili took it with a grateful nod and inhaled deeply before handing it back. "I honestly don't know why I put up with him," Fili went on after exhaling the cloud, careful to avoid blowing it into his son's face.

Frerin sat up and sniffed. "That pipe weed?"  
>"Yes, that's pipe weed, my boy."<br>"Can I try?"  
>"No, not yet."<br>Frerin pouted. Kili grinned.  
>"Look, when you..." Fili looked around searchingly. "When you're taller than Uncle Kili's sword, then you can try."<br>Frerin sat up and hopped form his father's lap. "Uncle Kili! Uncle Kili!"

Chuckling, Kili handed the pipe to his brother and stood up. He unsheathed his sword and placed it tip down next to Frerin.  
>The boy looked at the weapon; he was just tall enough so the top of his head was level with the handle. A frown appeared in addition to the pout. "It's going to take forever!" He complained.<p>

"No it won't." Kili sheathed his sword again and tousled Frerin's hair. "And that's why you're not allowed pipe weed yet. Because you're still growing, and you'll stop growing when you smoke. We're grown already, so it doesn't matter. But if you want to grow, then you'll have to wait. Otherwise, you'll stay that size forever."  
>Frerin gazed up at his uncle, a deep, befuddled frown on his face. "Really?"<br>"Really." Kili nodded sagely. "Uncle-word-of-honour."

Frerin crossed his arms, still pouting. "I'm never allowed anything."  
>Katla was just about to interject with some motherly chiding when Kili bent down and said: "What if you were allowed to stay with Uncle Kili overnight?"<br>The pout transformed instantly into a grin. "Really?"  
>Kili grinned in return, and Frerin jumped at him, slinging his arms around his uncle's neck. Kili straightened up with a grin.<p>

"_Amad_?" Frerin clung to Kili, arms thrown around his neck. "_Adad_? May I? Please?"  
>"Of course you may." Fili got up and handed his brother the pipe back.<br>"I'll pack a few things," Katla said and headed for Frerin's room.

Frerin could hardly contain his childish excitement.

"Dare I ask why he is always so excited when he's allowed to stay with you?" Fili smiled crookedly at his brother.  
>"What about it?" Kili grinned. "It's the joy of having an uncle!"<br>"And sugar almonds!"  
>"Shhh!" Kili gave his brother a panicked look.<br>"Oh!" Frerin, deeply unhappy, covered his hand with his mouth.

Fili was hard pressed not to laugh. "We keep this a secret from _amad_, aye?"  
>Frerin nodded hastily.<p>

"Here you go." Katla emerged from Frerin's room and handed Kili a small bag. "Enjoy yourselves."  
>"Likewise!" Kili gave back with an entirely too broad, beaming grin.<br>Katla blushed and Fili stroked his beard to be able to hold his laughter back.

Kili set Frerin down and took his hand, and the boy skipped happily alongside his uncle. "Bye, _amad_ and _adad_! Good night!"

Fili and Katla waved, and when the door had closed, Fili fell into his chair and laughed. Katla, still blushing but grinning, shook her head. Once Fili had gotten his breath back he got up and slung his arms around Katla's hips. "Now, being as my brother is a very wise man, I would suggest we heed his words and... enjoy ourselves."

Arm in arm they headed for their bedroom. Fili closed the door behind him and while Katla watched him under lowered lids, he sighed. "Alone at last."

When he turned around, he saw Katla opening the uppermost silver button of her bodice. "What kind of enjoyment exactly did you have in mind, my King?"  
>Fili undid his belt and dropped it. "The royal kind, my Queen," he said as he shed his vest. "The one thing only the King is allowed to do."<br>"And what is that?" Katla opened the second button.

Fili took another step forward and pulled his shirt over his head. He threw it behind him and closed the distance between him and Katla in one step. "Having his way with the Queen, of course." He slung his arms around Katla's hips again and pulled her into a kiss.

The door to the bedroom flew open and Fili and Katla jumped away from each other like adolescents caught doing something indecent.

Frerin stood in the door. "I forgot my toy horse and I can't find it!"  
>Katla forced the breath back into her lungs."It is in your room, my love."<br>"But I can't find it!"  
>Fili dragged both hands down his face. Katla shot him an amused glance.<p>

"Can you find it, _amad_?" Frerin stepped into the room, looked around, caught sight of his father, and his eyes widened in utter indignation.

"_Adad_!" he said accusingly. "You can't just leave that lying around like this!" In perfect imitation of his mother's tone and gestures, he pointed at Fili's carelessly discarded garments.  
>Katla coughed as she left the bedroom.<p>

"Uh... Yes, I'm sorry." Feeling utterly foolish and mildly contrite, Fili hastily collected his garments and folded them neatly on the nightstand. "Won't happen again."  
>Frerin waggled his forefinger at him.<br>"Yes, yes, I said I'm sorry, right?" Fili crossed his arms, still trying to keep up with events.

"Here, my love." Katla returned with the toy horse and Frerin took it with a squeak.  
>"Thank you, <em>amad<em>!" And out of the door he was, audibly so as the door to their chambers fell very loudly shut.

Katla looked at her chided husband and her ribs hurt. Fili gave her a frustrated glare and sat down on the bed. Then Katla took a deep breath, but still felt as if her ribs were spraining any moment.  
>Fili looked up at her, defeated. "Oh for Mahal's sake, go ahead and laugh."<p>

Katla finally lost the fight and gave in with a pealing laughter. She had to grab the bedpost for support and laughed so hard that tears were streaming down her face. When she finally straightened up again Fili had lit himself a pipe.

"I'm sorry," Katla said and wiped her face. "I'm really sorry my love..."  
>"No, you're not." Fili clamped his teeth around the stem of his pipe and crossed his arms. "Not really."<p>

Katla took a few deep breaths to calm down further and sat down beside Fili. "Is there anything I could do for you?"  
>"Give me back my dignity..." Fili said through his clenched teeth and puffed his cheeks. He exhaled a large cloud and sighed.<br>Katla's face softened and she took the pipe out of Fili's unresisting mouth. "Come here, my love. Let me kiss it better."

She placed her hands on Fili's cheek and met his lips in a tender kiss. After a few moments, Fili began to unwind and pulled Katla closer. Their kiss deepened, and they slowly sank down into the pillows.  
>Fili broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of Katla's neck and she sighed deeply as she buried her hands into Fili's hair while he gently nipped at the soft and tender skin<p>

The door opened with a slam and Fili jumped so high he fell out of the bed. Katla hastily sat up.

"_Amad_! I just wanted to say I'm also talking my soldier! Good night!"

Fili got up with an angry groan to follow his son. Katla, worried about Fili's temper, hastily followed. But it was not Frerin that Fili was after. The moment Frerin was about to close the door he took the handle from his son and opened it again.

Upon the sight of his brother, bare-chested, dishevelled, his hair tousled and the lacing of his trousers half undone, Kili doubled over with howling laughter.

"You beardless piece of..."  
>"Fili!" Katla snapped. "Mind your language in front of the boy!"<br>Fili growled like an animal. "I'll get you for this, Kili. I swear I will get you for this!"

Frerin looked worriedly back and forth between his father and his uncle. "Uncle Kili? Why is _Adad_ so angry?"  
>Kili tried to calm himself. "It's because I played a little prank on him."<br>"A prank?" Frerin grinned. "What kind of prank?"  
>Kili's laughter died in his throat. "Uh... a... an uncle prank."<p>

Then Kili noticed his brother's eyes resting on him in grim satisfaction. "Go on. You're the uncle, you explain your pranks."

He looked at Katla, the two exchanged a grin, and closed the door into Kili's mildly panicked face as Frerin demanded: "Uncle? What kind of prank? What kind of prank, Uncle Kili?"

Fili draped his arms around Katla again and met her eyes. "Dare we venture for a third attempt?"  
>Katla laughed softly. "I'd dare say your brother is done with his prank by now."<br>Fili chuckled.  
>"But it may be prudent to lock the bedroom door." Katla reached out and wound a braid of Fili's moustache around her finger, then used it to pull his face closer.<br>"A sound idea, my love," Fili replied before kissing her.


	4. Ghosts of the Past

_**Katla learns that the Garnet truly has given her the second sight. And there is someone who needs her help. Someone who can find no rest.  
>A ghost of the past...<strong> _

* * *

><p>Katla woke up, ice-cold and unable to move. Eyes wide open she stared into the darkness of the bedroom.<br>The only sound was Fili's deep and even breathing.

After a few deep breaths to calm herself, Katla realised that she had been dreaming. There was no one crying for help. A shiver crept down her spine.

It was as if she could still hear the voice in her head, begging her to help. Katla had no idea who it was, and what she could possibly help with, but it had been so vivid, so clear...

And with a flash of insight, accompanied by a gust of panic, she knew whom she had been dreaming about.

Forcing herself to remain slow and quiet and to breathe evenly, Katla crept out of the bed. Fili stirred, but did not wake up. After another look at her sleeping husband, Katla hastily threw a shawl around her shoulders and left their chambers.

It was silent outside in the halls of the royal quarters, but Katla saw a few rooms where light was still spilling faintly out from under the doors.  
>One of these doors was her destination, and she was relieved not having to wake him. Standing in front of the door she hesitated, but something inside her forced Katla to knock.<p>

The door opened, and Thorin gave her a puzzled look. "Katla? What are you doing here at this time?"  
>"Please... can I come in?"<p>

Still puzzled, Thorin stepped aside and closed the door behind him.

Katla looked around and shivered. The coldness was becoming worse, and she was reminded of the feeling that had possessed her during the council session that had ended with her vision about Balin's grave in Moria. This was feeling much the same. Too much.

"Katla?" Thorin took her elbow. "What in Durin's name is the matter? You look as if you've seen a ghost."  
>Katla swallowed and stared into the hearth. "I think... I think I have."<br>"Katla?"

She looked up to see Skadi leave the bedroom, buttoning a dressing gown. "I'm sorry for the late interruption but..."  
>"Something heavy must be on your mind, no matter the hour. What is it?" Skadi looked as worried as Thorin did.<p>

Feeling another icy chill, Katla could only shudder. "I've seen her..." She whispered. "I heard her voice..."  
>"Who did you see?" Thorin and Skadi exchanged an uneasy look. "Whose voice?"<br>"I... I don't really know..." Katla said, when in truth, she was almost certain whom it was she had seen and heard. Yet she still clung to a feeble hope she might have been mistaken. "A woman. She begged me for help."

"And do you know that woman?" Skadi walked to her other side and took one of Katla's hands. "And why by Durin's beard did you come here and not to Fili?"  
>Katla swallowed. "I wanted..."<p>

There was a knock on the door, and Katla almost jumped out of her skin.

"What is it with tonight?" Thorin grumbled, only to find Fili standing before his door, a deeply concerned and worried look on his face. "You, too?"  
>"Me what?" Fili blinked. "I'm looking for Katla, and..."<p>

"But you were fast asleep when I left..."

"Katla?" Fili stepped past Thorin and shrugged. "I woke up, and you were gone. You never leave our chambers at night and I... I don't know..." Fili began to realise that he might have overreacted. "I was worried..." he ended lamely.

Thorin looked back and forth between the two. "Katla was scared out of her wits when she came. I gather you somehow picked up on that when she woke up."  
>"Maybe." Fili walked to Katla's side. "But why didn't you wake me up?"<br>"Because..." Katla closed her eyes. "I needed to come here, and I didn't want..." She broke off, staring wide-eyed at nothing.

Fili took her arm. "Katla...?"  
>Katla shuddered and fell against him. "I heard it again," she almost sobbed.<br>"What did you hear?"

Katla was silent for a long time before she peeled herself out of Fili's embrace. She seemed to have made up her mind, because most of the fear was gone.

"I am not sure." Katla took a deep breath. "But someone was calling for help, and I think I know who it was."

Fili blinked slowly and looked at Thorin who could only shrug.

"These were your chambers, Fili, weren't they?"  
>"Uh... yes. Before we moved..."<br>"And you lived here with your first wife?"  
>Fili looked as if he had been hit by a frying pan. "Wha... yes, but why..."<p>

Katla looked down at her feet. "I heard her name once. But that was all I know about her."  
>"About whom?" Thorin looked at Fili whose face had drained of all colour. "Ysona?"<br>"That was her name, wasn't it?"  
>Fili nodded mutely.<p>

Katla pulled the shawl closer around her shoulders and looked up. "I saw... I saw a young woman. Delicately build, with fine and delicate features. Blond curls and honey coloured eyes. Her chin hair was decorated with sweet water pearls."

"Ysona..."

Fili looked as if he was about to faint. Thorin took a small step to his side and took his nephew's arm, and to his dismay discovered that is was as hard and rigid as wood.

"Fili, my lad," he said gently. Fili didn't react.

Katla slowly turned around again to look at the hearth. "I heard her voice. She begged me to help her."

A sound escaped Fili that was something between a choked sob and a gasp. Thorin draped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

"Thorin..." Fili whispered, his voice shaky with horror.

Thorin couldn't remember when last it had happened that he had to comfort his nephew like this. Fili was absolutely out of his wits.

"Was she here... all the time?" Fili shuddered. "Has she been..."  
>"No, I don't... I don't think so, although I don't know how I know this." Katla turned around again. "She was... here, but not as in... here inside these chambers. I can't explain it..."<p>

"But what now?" Skadi looked at Fili, then at Katla. "And why did you come here?"  
>Katla looked at her fingers that nervously picked at each other. "I had the feeling that... because she lived here... that I could find her."<br>"And find out how to help her."  
>Katla nodded. "She is not at peace."<br>"She wouldn't be," Fili rasped tonelessly. "Not after the way she died..."

"I don't know how she died." Katla shrugged. "I don't know if that has anything to do with it."  
>"She was pregnant, but something went wrong," Thorin replied. "No one knew why, but she bled to death in terrible pain. She refused to take an abortive potion until it was too late."<br>Katla closed her eyes. "In that case it is likely that it has something to do with it."

Fili shook his head and lowered it. Thorin left his arm in place and looked up at Katla.

"So what do we do now?" He asked. "Did you have a plan when you came here?"  
>"Not really." Katla adjusted the shawl around her shoulders. "But I think I will try to let her find me." She looked at Skadi. "I don't know why... would you extinguish the candles?"<p>

Skadi nodded and set about blowing out all the candles in the room until the only source of light was the fire in the hearth. Thorin could feel his nephew take a step back and followed until Fili's back was pressed against the wall. He noticed that Skadi stepped beside Fili and took one of his hands.

Katla stood close to the hearth and listened, her heart racing with fear. For a while, nothing happened. She was about to give up when suddenly...

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Katla forced herself to ignore Fili's discomfort and fear. Her eyes closed, she slowly turned away from the fire. The air was cooler as she turned away from the fire. But suddenly, it was cold. Katla stopped and opened her eyes. Suddenly all fear was gone as if banished from her soul.

"I am here," she whispered. "I will help you."

Thorin felt every hair on his body rise, and Fili beside him stiffened even more. Like a child he buried his face into Thorin's shoulders. "Uncle..."  
>Thorin pulled him closer. "It'll be all right, lad."<p>

Katla felt a faint gust of cold wind in her face. She couldn't see anything, but she felt it. Like the presence of someone in a dark room, she felt her now.

And then she heard the words.

_Sorrow_

"I understand," Katla whispered gently. "You were so young."

_Sorrow  
>Pain<em>

"I know. You wanted the child to live, but it could not be."

Katla felt another breath of coldness in her face. Then she felt it, somehow closer. As if, by welcoming her, she had enable her to become clearer.

_I am so sorry_

"What are you sorry about?"

_I made him kill my brother  
>I broke my mother's and my father's heart<em>

The other three could only hear Katla's part of the conversation, of course. Thus it was that Thorin was mildly shocked when Katla suddenly asked why Fili had killed her brother.

"He was mad, a madness of the darkest sort," Thorin finally said. "He lusted after his sister and tried to rape her once. Fili did not want her shamed because of a cursed family and decided to do away with him so Ysona's reputation would take no harm. But he was his father's only heir."

"I understand."

Katla focussed on the darkness again.

"You tried to protect yourself."

_He was my brother_

"He bore ill will towards you."

_He loved me_

"It was a twisted, evil kind of love."

For a long time, Katla felt nothing. Then she felt as if she could hear someone weep.

"How can I help you?"

_The child_

"I am so sorry." Katla felt tears choke her. "I am so sorry, but the child is dead."

_Fili_

"He is alive and well."

_My prince_

"He was, yes."

After that, Katla didn't feel anything for a long time. Behind her, she could hear the uneasy shuffling of Thorin, Skadi and Fili.

"Ysona?" Katla kept her voice low, but speaking the name, even in a whisper, sent another icy shiver down her spine.

A cold, faint breeze on her face.

_I loved him  
>I love him still<em>

"I understand," Katla whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I love him too, with all my heart."

_He did not love me_

"I am sorry. Not the way you would have wanted him to."

_He loves you_

"He does."

_Is he happy_

"He is. We have a son."

Another cold breeze touched Katla's face, but this time, it almost felt like a caress.

_I miss him_

"No doubt you do. I feel your pain of losing him." Sorrow choked her at the thought of losing him herself.

_I never said farewell_

"You had not the strength. In the end, you were too weak."

_I need to say farewell_

"How can I help you? Shall I tell him?"

_I want to say farewell_

"But what can I do?"

_Let me in_

"To say farewell..."

Katla understood, but the thought frightened her beyond words to express it. But she had promised she would help. She had no idea what to do, so she simply closed her eyes and tried to open her mind, tried to be welcoming and not shy away from whatever would happen next.  
>She felt coldness, and suddenly, she was so cold she didn't even freeze anymore. At the same time she felt unable to move. Apart from her lips, which moved beyond her means to control them.<p>

"Fili?"

Fili's knees almost gave way under him. What he heard was not Katla's voice anymore and he held on to Thorin for dear life. Thorin himself felt the horror now, too, and he heard Skadi gasp for air.

"Fili?"

"Ysona?" Fili's voice trembled, nothing more than a husky whisper.  
>"My prince. My love. I wanted to give you a son."<br>Fili swallowed. "I know. I am sorry it wasn't meant to be."  
>"But you have a son now."<br>"I have," Fili said, his voice hardly audible.  
>"I loved you."<br>"I am sorry." Fili shuddered, and droplets of cold sweat trickled down his temples. "I am sorry I could not love you the way you wanted me to."  
>"You loved someone else."<br>"I did, and I still do."

A long pause followed Fili's last admission. He was allowing himself the hope that she might have gone, but then he heard her voice again.

"Are you happy?"  
>Fili licked his dry lips. He would have lied for her sake if not for the certainty that you should not lie to a spirit. "I am, Ysona. I could not be happier."<br>"Your heart has healed."  
>"It... it has."<br>"Then I am glad. I want you to be happy." She paused. "I wanted to say farewell."

Fili opened his eyes again, thought it made little difference in the darkness of the room. "Farewell. Farewell, my princess. May you finally find the peace you deserve."  
>"Farewell, my prince. Please do not forget me."<br>"I could never forget you, Sapphire Princess."

The fire crackled in the hearth. The silence was palpable.

And suddenly, Katla collapsed with a heavy groan.

"Skadi, the candles," Thorin said. "Quick!"

Skadi took the nearest candle and lit it at the fire with shaking hands. She hurried around the room as fast as she could without extinguishing it and lit the candles again.

Fili fell onto his knees beside Katla and gathered her up into his arms. Thorin knelt on her other side, mustering her with deep concern.

"Katla! Katla, my love! Wake up!" Fili sounded close to panic. "Katla!"

Katla's eyelids fluttered and she coughed. Then her eyes opened and came to rest on Fili. She smiled, and tears broke free from her eyes, spilling down her face and trickling into her hair.

With a chocked sob, Fili pulled her close and buried his face into her hair. Katla slung her arms around him and for a while they just remained like this, holding on to each other with all their strength.

"Is it over?" Skadi had put the candlestick down and slung her arms around her body. "Is she gone?"  
>Thorin got up and walked up to her to take her into his arms. "I hope so," he said. "I hope her soul has finally found peace."<br>Skadi buried into Thorin's embrace. "The poor soul."

Somewhat later, Thorin accompanied Fili and Katla to their own bedroom. He bade them a good night before he left but doubted that either of them would find any more rest that night.

Katla and Fili were huddled together under their blankets, holding on to each other like frightened children. And slowly, hesitatingly at first and interspersed with hardly suppressed sobs, Fili began to tell Katla everything about Ysona and his time with her. From the first time he had met her until the moment she had drawn her last breath with him holding her hand. He talked about his own anguish at losing Katla and his son, all the suffering, the emptiness in his soul that had frightened him so; he talked about the sorrow and the fear, but also about the small moments of peace and joy.

Katla listened to all this while gently stroking his hair, and when he had finally emptied his soul to her she let him make love to her with a fierce desperation, bearing his need and his anguish without any self-regard. When he had finally collapsed onto her and muttered desperate apologies into her hair for using her so she simply kissed him and told him she would help him heal in any way she could, just as he would do for her.

He started sobbing again, and Katla simply held him until he had spent all his tears. It was a healing catharsis she knew he needed, and she also knew that after this, he would never cry again for what was now behind him.

They did indeed not sleep any more that night.

They both were drained and tired after that night lay behind them, but in unspoken agreement they dressed themselves and left their quarters, together with Frerin whom they dropped off at his grandmother's chambers.

They headed downwards, deep into the mountain, and finally reached the tombs where Fili led the way until they had reached the solitary sarcophagus that held the mortal remains of Ysona.

Fili placed a sprig of rosemary onto her coffin. "Farewell, Sapphire Princes. May you finally find peace."  
>Katla placed another sprig of rosemary beside Fili's. "Farewell, Sapphire Princess. Rest, and find peace. You shall not be forgotten."<p>

They stood in silence for a while before they turned around and left. After a few steps, however, Katla turned around again.

"I shall take good care of him, and of his heart. You can go in peace."

A light breeze caressed her face for a second and was gone. Katla smiled, and took Fili's arm. Together they headed back to the world of the living.


	5. How to please a King

_Here's another M-rated chapter for you, because I know you're all here for the smut._

**_Katla wants to learn how to please her husband_**

* * *

><p>Two candles cast a gentle sheen of golden light across the room, and the dancing flames in the hearth turned the dim light in the bedroom into liquid amber.<p>

Fili sat barefoot and bare-chested on the edge of the bed and enjoyed his evening pipe, sitting with his legs drawn up and eyes half closed while Katla knelt behind him and gently kneaded the muscles in Fili's shoulders.

"I could sit here like this for hours..." Fili muttered luxuriously and sighed.  
>Katla chuckled. "I bet you could."<br>Fili let his head drop back as far as he could and squinted up into Katla's face. He opened his mouth to say something but Katla leaned over him and took his chance to make a teasing reply.

"If you keep kissing me like this..." Fili said as he straightened up and brought the pipe back to his lips, "...then I'll get a crick and will be needing more of those administrations."  
>Katla leaned forward and slung her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Mahal save me..." she breathed into his ear, voice deliberately deep and husky. Fili shuddered ever so slightly.<p>

Fili exhaled a cloud and watched it curl upward. A smile played around his lips as he leaned his head in and touched temples with Katla. "I am sure I can return the favour somehow..." He said, his voice equally low.  
>"Can I make a wish?" Katla asked, sounding suddenly shy again.<br>"A wish?" Fili couldn't suppress a slightly cocky grin and dropped forward onto all fours to be able to reach the nightstand and put his pipe down. Then he turned around and knelt before Katla who looked at him shyly.

"I don't think I will ever get used to this," Fili said softly.  
>"To what?" Katla pulled the shawl a little tighter around her shoulders.<br>"To you. And your... I don't know how to call it." He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You can be so confident and suddenly, you are the shy girl again I met in that shabby little hut so many years ago."

Katla blushed. "I'm sorry if..."  
>"No." Fili leaned forward and cupped her face in his palms. "No, don't ever be sorry for anything about you. I will not have that." He kissed her gently. "Never."<br>"All right, but..." She gripped the shawl again, a gesture that Fili could remember from their time together in Katla's home, mostly used to cover some sort of embarrassment than actually adjusting an item of wardrobe.

"It's..." He searched for a way to convey his feelings. "It's like that shawl, you know. I can't say how happy I am that you still have it, it carries so many fond memories. And when you sit there like that, shy and insecure, you will always dig your fingers into it and..." He sighed, shook his head and pulled her close so their foreheads touched. "You are my queen, Katla, my woman. And you somehow still are the young maiden who saved my life, the one who stole my heart. My jewel. My gemstone."

Katla bit her lower lip. "You're making me cry."  
>Fili emitted a soft chuckle. "That was not my intention. I am just... sometimes I still can't believe you are here, and mine, and sometimes I feel that you have been here forever. But then I see you like this, a little embarrassed and clutching your shawl, and I feel as if I travelled back in time. It's like you've changed, but then... you haven't..." He broke off, looking lost. "I'm not making sense..."<p>

Running her hands through his hair, Katla smiled softly. "But I think I understand. I couldn't be the same young girl after all that happened. Motherhood, loneliness, the need to belong... and then finally belonging somewhere. And then getting you back. But some things about a person will never change. And I guess being easily embarrassed is what I am stuck with."

They shared a chuckle.

"But you know you need not be," Fili said after a moment. "I mean, I can understand why you feel it, but really, there's no need. There is nothing between us that either of us should ever feel embarrassed about."  
>With a smile, Katla wound one of his moustache braids around her finger and pulled him close for a kiss.<p>

Fili gladly obliged and closed his arms around her shoulder to push her down, but she resisted and broke the kiss again.

"About that wish..." She whispered, visibly trying not to be embarrassed.  
>"Just one?" Fili winked at her.<br>"Just one."Katla chewed her lower lip, but it looked thoughtful, not flustered.

"I want to..." She said, and took a deep breath.  
>Fili smiled at her, all dimples and glinting eyes. "Yes?"<br>"I want to learn... how to please you." Katla lowered her eyes.

Fili chortled and laughed gently. "Katla, my love..." He pulled her close. "There is nothing to learn, I assure you."  
>"I know... no." She leaned back. "That's not what I meant. I know you are pleased and I know you are satisfied when you have made love to me, but that... that is just... I want to..."<br>"But..." Fili's smile began to wither. "Is there something you miss?"  
>"No!" Katla hurried to say. "No, I miss nothing! But I just..." She bit her lip again. "I think it's just that you are making love to me, and don't think I don't love what you do. But I want to do it too."<br>Fili frowned a little. "You want to...?"  
>Katla's eyes darted this way and that. Then she looked up and met Fili's eyes. "I want to make love to you."<p>

"But..." Fili ran a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand."  
>Katla took a deep breath. "When we make love, then it is you... it is you who does all these wonderful things to me."<br>Fili couldn't suppress a small grin.  
>"And you know me so well, and you know my body so well. As if... as if you learned my body like an instrument, and you play it perfectly. And I want that, too. I want to know your body the way you know mine."<p>

Fili stared at her for a long time. "Well I..." he began huskily and licked his suddenly dry lips. "I won't stop you..."  
>Katla chuckled with another blush darkening her cheeks. "But I... I don't really know that much... about men. I mean..." She swallowed hastily and went on, ignoring Fili's amused head shake. "Back in Ered Luin we used to sit together, the other women and I, when we did quilting or spinning and weaving, and Mahal, how my ears burned sometimes. They would exchange all sort of advice on marital life, but largely, it concerned how to get your man to finish as fast as possible."<p>

Fili snorted and shook his head again.

Katla toyed with a corner of her shawl. "And I would remember you, and I thought to myself that their husbands had to be poor lovers indeed if they had so little enjoyment."  
>This time, Fili had to laugh. "You cannot imagine what these words to do my vanity!"<br>"I can perfectly well imagine," Katla replied with a laugh of her own. Then she was serious again. "But there were a few things I remember and where I still think that... that you might like them. So if I just..."

"Katla." Fili interrupted her gently. "This is not going to turn into a lesson like my mother holds for you regarding Khuzdul or protocol, aye?" He leaned forward and kissed her. "We are both supposed to enjoy this."  
>Katla smiled warmly and ran a hand down his cheek. "So what do I do...?"<br>Fili leaned back with a chuckle and settled down on the mattress. "Whatever you want, my love."

A warm glow began to spread in his body as he watched Katla lean over his face. A few strands of her hair tickled his cheeks.

"But what if I do something that you don't..."  
>"I can hardly imagine that will happen, but if so, then I'll shout. Or make strangling noises. Or cough. Or should I..."<br>Katla shut him with a fiery, open-mouthed kiss.  
>"... just shut up..." Fili finished in a husky whisper as Katla leaned back. He closed his eyes and swallowed.<p>

Katla smiled down at him and after biting on her lower lip for a final time, discarded first her shawl and then her shift. Fili was watching her every move through lowered eyelids, and when Katla saw this look on his face she suddenly knew that she could do nothing wrong. Her insecurity vanished, and she leaned down again for another kiss.

After that she knelt beside him and sat back on her heels, just drinking in the sight of his bare, well-shaped torso. Her hands began to move almost of their own accord and wandered across his skin, tracing every faint silver line that had once been a wound, every blue mark that decorated his chest and arms and every curve of every muscle. Her fingers combed through the springy golden curls covering his skin and muscles and a soft, content hum vibrated in Fili's chest.

Katla leaned closer to his face and toyed with his hair, meeting his eyes again that looked at her with so much love and longing that she felt her heart clench for a second. She claimed his lips again, digging her hands into his hair, and from his lips, drew a line of soft kisses along his jawbone and up to his right ear.

Fili emitted a soft sigh and squirmed a little as her lips gently caressed his ear, and he drew in a sharp breath when she carefully nipped his earlobe. Her fingers went on caressing his beard as her lips placed tender kisses onto his face; his forehead, his nose, his eyelids, his cheeks. When she reached the left ear and carefully played with it, using teeth and tongue, she drew the first soft moan from his lips.

Smiling to herself she straightened up and ran her fingers through his beard, but this time, no sound emerged. Fili's lips parted and his eyes were closed, an expression of dreamy disbelief on his face.

Katla readjusted her position so she was more lying than sitting beside him now and leaned over him again, gently digging her teeth into the tender skin of his neck. She was rewarded with a soft gasp. Remembering how it felt when Fili did it with her, she sucked a little of the skin between her lips and Fili gasped again, his fists slowly curling. When she leaned back she could see she had left a mark on his skin, but when she told Fili that all he did was smile and whisper: "I shall bear it with pride."

She let her lips trail across the skin of his arms after that, discovering every line and every curve. She placed a kiss into the palm of his hand, onto each fingertip, onto his knuckles, and went the whole way back to his shoulder, trailing kisses across his chest to discover his other arm. She marvelled at the intricate ink designs decorating his skin and at the fact that these hands, so strong and bearing calluses from both sword and hammer, could be so gentle and set her body on fire with their touches.

She drew another sharp gasp from him when she cautiously caressed his left nipple with a finger; but when she leaned down to caress it with lips and tongue she could hear him moan softly and say her name, soft like a kiss, urgent like a prayer.  
>By the time she had given his right nipple the same treatment he was breathing hard and fast, his eyes pinched shut.<p>

When Katla straightened up again she could feel her own desire growing, and with a soft look and parted lips she began to untie the lacing of Fili's trousers. She tugged them halfway down his hips and then leaned over to claim another kiss. Fili hungrily responded and opened his lips to her while digging his fingers into her hair. When Katla broke the kiss she realised he was hard pressed catching his breath, his eyes were clouded with lust, his hair tousled and his temples shining with moisture.

"Turn around, please," she whispered. "I haven't touched your back yet."  
>Fili swallowed hard but obliged and buried his face into the pillows as Katla's fingers did what they had done earlier, tracing every line and curve, every scar and every tattoo. She trailed a line of kisses up his spine, from the small of his back up to the back of his neck before playfully digging her teeth into his shoulder.<br>Fili responded with a low, almost despairing growl.

Katla placed another line of kisses down his spine, and when she had reached the waistband of his trousers she hooked her fingers into it and the pants he wore underneath and slowly pulled it down. Fili was willing to help and lifted his hips so she could remove it, and once she had dropped the garments she could finally look at him in all his glory. She couldn't' suppress a sigh of bliss.

Fili chuckled shakily into his pillow. "I gather you like what you see?"  
>"No." Katla chuckled, too. "I love it."<br>She pinched one of his buttocks, so unexpected for him that it made him squeak. Katla couldn't suppress a laugh.  
>"Oh my dignity..." Fili muttered into his pillow.<br>"Oh your perfect backside," Katla replied with a giggle. "You don't need any dignity, my love. Not when you have such a perfect... fundament."  
>"You are getting very cocky." His voice was muffled by the pillow. "Should I worry?"<br>"No," Katla said and placed a kiss onto the very place she had just pinched. "I won't eat you."

"Well that's some..." Fili bit into his pillow, because Katla had dug her teeth into his buttock. She looked at the mark she had left with a satisfied smile and continued her exploration of his body down his legs.

Fili was beginning to get restless and shifty, his small sounds of pleasure more and more needy as she worked her way down his legs with caresses of her fingers and gentle kisses.  
>Kneeling between his feet and sighting up his completely bared backside she paused, as this was a sight she had never seen so far, not in this glorious perfection.<p>

Her voice was husky when she said. "Turn around, and show me."  
>"Show you what?" Fili asked hoarsely as he peeled his face out of the pillows.<br>"You." Katla swallowed and licked her lips. "Everything."

Fili pushed himself up with a breathless little chuckle and flopped back down onto his back. He lifted his head and met Katla's eyes. She was kneeling between his legs and between them was only Fili's hard and trembling erection. But when Katla slowly lowered her eyes to his groin, he swallowed hard and let his head fall back with a deep and heartfelt moan.

Of course Katla was familiar with that specific piece of anatomy, but she had never been so close, it had never been presented to her like this. She had touched it, of course, but now she had time to study it up close. Fili gasped her name when he felt her breath grazing the hot and sensitive skin.

"Can I touch you?" Katla asked in a low whisper.  
>Fili emitted a sound that was almost a wail. "You do everything you want..." he chuckled breathlessly.<br>Katla smiled and carefully touched the base of his erection; then cupped the soft, silky pouch tufted with wiry hairs, and gently closed her fingers around it to feel the two mysterious orbs inside.  
>"Careful with these!" Fili gasped, his head rearing up.<p>

Katla smiled at him, taking in the wide-eyed stare, the beads of moisture on his temples, the flushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips. Her lips parted, and with a soft smile, she lowered her head.

Fili's head fell back with a deep and heavy moan as she placed a tender kiss onto each of these orbs that she knew to be terribly vulnerable. She kissed them again, just to hear that noise from Fili again, and when she looked up again she saw that his fists were curling into folds of the sheet under him, threatening to tear it apart.

She let go of the pouch and Fili's breath exploded in a huff, only to hitch again with another gasp when she closed her hand around the eager shaft in front of her.

"Katla, please..."

Chewing her lower lip in a mix of nervous anticipation and lust, she moved her hand down, thus exposing the final bit of him to her eyes.

"Katla!"

She moistened her lips and gave him the last, most intimate of kisses.

Fili let out a long, drawn out moan and from the corner of her eye Katla could see his fists tighten so hard that his knuckles went white. She moved her tongue and took him deeper in.

"Katla!" His voice was hoarse and trembling. "Katla stop... I can't..."  
>Her head flew upward and she stared at Fili in deep concern. "Am I doing this wrong?"<br>"NO!" Fili gulped for air. "No! You're perfect... and I can't... I can't stop myself, Katla. I will..."  
>Katla suddenly understood. "Should I stop? Don't you want that?"<br>"Don't torture me!" Fili all but yelled at her in utter despair. "Of course I want! It's just that..." He gasped for air. "I can't stop it..."  
>"I know." Katla lowered her head again.<p>

Fili gave up.

When her lips closed around him again he gave in to the sensation, making sounds he had no idea he could produce. He bucked into her, two times, three, and with the heat flowing in his body suddenly coming all together in one spot he felt the vice of his climax grab him. Dimly he was aware that it was her name on his lips, but he could hardly believe that this ragged, concupiscent scream was his own voice.

Katla listened to his sounds of pleasure that somehow sparked her own arousal even more. She felt his climax approach and closed her eyes, and as she heard him scream her name all she could do was swallow everything he had to give.  
>She drank him dry.<p>

When she let go of his softening manhood that then rested comfortably in the thick nest of springy golden curls she crawled to his side, but before she could protest Fili had pulled her into a fierce embrace and muttered endearments into her hair while his breathing slowly calmed.

When his breath and his senses had returned to him, Fili settled himself comfortably spooned around her and placed a kiss into her hair.

"My perfect gemstone. Why are you so perfect?"  
>Katla chuckled and snuggled closer to him. "I am surely not perfect."<br>"You are perfect." Fili closed his arms tighter around her.  
>"Perfect for you, maybe." Katla closed her eyes and Fili chuckled into her hair.<br>"That's all that matters, my love."


	6. Family Ties

_**More DFF (**Durin Family Fluff**). I know you want it.**_

* * *

><p>When Fili returned from the forge one evening, he was met by a very worried Katla and his equally worried mother.<p>

"Is Frerin not with you?" Katla asked.  
>Fili frowned. "No. I haven't seen him all day, not in the throne hall and not in the forge. Why?"<br>Dís and Katla exchanged a worried glance.  
>"He said he was going down to the forges to watch you," Dís said. "That was after lunch."<br>Fili shook his head again, now equally worried. "No, he was never down there. If he had been, someone would have seen him and brought him to me, or at least told me of it."

After a moment where all three of them looked at each other, they left the royal quarters in unspoken agreement to organize a search. Especially further down in the mountain there were a lot of unused tunnels that had been dug for prospecting, and it was all too easy to lose one's bearings down there.

Dozens of people equipped with lamps then began to comb through the mountain, but even after a whole night of searching, they had found no trace of the boy.

Fili decided not to partake in the searching anymore and stayed at Katla's side instead; she was so worried she was close to panic and Fili meant to give her what comfort he could. The truth was he was as worried and afraid as she was, but he kept those feelings well hidden in order to offer her comfort and support.

The only bit of news they got that evening was that the boy had gone off together with his two friends, Aín and Aki, who were Oín's grandsons. Some years older than Frerin they occasionally harassed him to tears, but equally often took him under their wings to play older brothers and show and teach him all sorts of things.

Regarding their trip to the forge the two boys, scared out of their wits by being summoned by the king, they only stammered they had taken the lad down to the forges and couldn't resist nosing around the empty tunnels where they had lost him.

"That's a bit of information we could have used immediately after it happened," Fili growled. "Why did you not come to me or his mother with this?"  
>The boys shrunk back and dug their feet into the floor.<br>"We didn't dare..." Aki finally ventured. "We thought we'd be blamed."  
>"Well I blame you now!" Fili got up. "He's been out there a whole night and day all alone, and that he's in the lower tunnels would have been helpful in narrowing down the search. He'd be found by now!"<p>

The boys just hung their heads, but Fili was far too distressed to be dealing with them at that point. The lower tunnels were a maze, and a cold and dark one at that. His thoughts refused to stop producing terrible images of his son down there, freezing, alone and crying, hungry, thirsty and maybe even injured.

The night shift of the searchers were already underway, and all Fili could do was sent a few messengers around to spread the word that the search should concentrate on the maze of old prospecting tunnels.

No longer able to sit and wait, both he and Katla now joined the search as well, but with morning, no one had found even a trace of the young prince.

Katla was close to collapsing at that point, and she could no longer stop her tears. Two days and two nights had passed, and no one wanted to admit it, but the chances of finding the boy alive were dwindling rapidly by now.

**x-x-x**

Thorin had joined the search from the beginning, and he had given himself no rest apart from the absolutely bare minimum that his body demanded. He had simply taken some supplies and a blanket with him and didn't bother with returning to his quarters when time was such an essential factor.

To avoid losing his bearings himself he marked the way he took, sketching a rune at every crossroad with a piece of charcoal. He had lost his sense of day and night by now, but that mattered little as he wasted no time on sleeping more than necessary to keep his body functioning.

He, too, knew how dangerous these old prospecting tunnels were, he knew it all too well. He had gotten lost down here himself as a boy once, and he could remember the feeling of terror at being trapped down there alone in the dark after his torch had burned down.  
>Not only were these tunnels small and unlit, but they also featured vertical tunnels and holes where the prospectors had dug downwards in an attempt to find those veins of precious metals. If Frerin had fallen down one of those tunnels, there was little hope for the boy, but Thorin refused to give up.<p>

Having reached a crossroad of tunnels the runes told him he had been here before, and there was only one direction he had not yet taken. After marking his way he set off into the darkness again, to realise that the tunnel he had entered featured a lot of those vertical prospecting holes, their rims crumbling and treacherous. He carefully gave them a wide berth. After the next bend he had to duck his head as the tunnel narrowed down, and it was then that he heard it: A thin, pitiful whimpering from some distance before him.

He hurried as fast as he could towards the sound, to find himself looking at a round hole with a broken rim.

Thorin carefully lowered himself down and held his lamp over the hole. "Frerin?" He could see nothing, the hole had to be at least two yards deep.  
>The whining stopped. "<em>Adad<em>?" The voice was so thin and fearful that it almost broke Thorin's heart.  
>"No, it's me, Thorin. Hold on, lad, I'll get you out of there."<p>

He shrugged off his pack and produced a rope, a hammer and a solid earth bolt which he drove into the stone, a good distance away from the hole, with a few swift strokes of the hammer, thanking Mahal in his thoughts that he had remembered the holes and had come prepared. He didn't want to imagine how the lad would have felt if who he thought was his rescuer had to vanish again to fetch the right equipment.

After having secured the rope to the bolt Thorin took hold of the rope, gave it an experimental tug and cautiously lowered himself over the rim and into the hole. It was a bit deeper than the two yards, almost three, and it narrowed down as well. When he had reached the ground he could touch the walls beside him without even fully stretching his arms.

His back pressed against the wall and hunched over his arms pressed against his chest, Frerin huddled at the bottom of the hole and only slowly lifted his head. His bright, blue eyes were dull with fear and doubtlessly with hunger and thirst as well.  
>"My arm hurts," he whispered.<br>"Let me have a look," Thorin replied as gently as he could and knelt down beside the boy. Frerin straightened his upper body and Thorin could see that he was cradling his left arm in his right, the forearm cleanly broken.

Wordlessly Thorin picked the boy up in his arms, slung the rope around his midriff to tie Frerin to his own body and slowly, mindful of Frerin's injury, climbed out of the hole again. Once he had freed the boy from the rope, he sat down before him to see what the damage was.

"Will I lose the arm?" Frerin asked fearfully, sounding like a warrior after a battle, calm and composed, but his childish voice was trembling.  
>"No, you won't." Thorin carefully took Frerin's left hand. "I can make it straight again, but you will have to be very brave because it will hurt. Can you do that?"<br>Frerin wiped his right hand across his nose and nodded, eyes wide with panic.

Thorin was by no means a healer, but his experience on battlefields had taught him a lot about treating minor injuries and he was quite capable of setting a clean and simple break.  
>"On three," he said gently, and of course, pulled the bone straight on the count of two. Frerin shrieked in pain and erupted in tears, and Thorin immediately gathered him into his arms.<p>

Despite all his own warm clothing Thorin couldn't help but notice how cold the boy was. He held him tight, closing both arms around him, and waited until Frerin had calmed down again.  
>"There now, little warrior. It's over, and your arm looks fine again."<br>Frerin sniffled and dared to look at his arm, and upon realising it was indeed straight again, he buried his face into Thorin's fur collar.

"Thank you, M-Master Oakensh-shield..."  
>It was what most people in the mountain called Thorin; and it was only then that Thorin realised how little he had been around the boy to be addressed respectfully like a stranger. He shook his head and cleared his throat.<p>

"We're kin, Frerin. You don't have to call me that."  
>Frerin peeled his face out of Thorin's collar. "Not?"<br>"No. Your father is my sister-son. Call me Thorin."  
>"<em>Adad<em> is what?" Frerin's face, pale, wet with tears and smudged with dirt, scrunched up in incomprehension.  
>"I am his uncle." Thorin brushed a few strands of dirty, golden hair out of Frerin's face and was instantly reminded of how many times he had done so with the boy's father when Fili had been little and in need of comforting.<p>

Frerin pondered this information for a while, still sniffling and not quite done with the shock and painof having his arm set straight. "So you are Uncle Thorin?"  
>Those achingly familiar blue eyes looked up at him like a beacon from a past almost forgotten andThorin felt a small lump in his throat as he nodded. "Yes, I am Uncle Thorin."<p>

And Frerin, the brave little boy, gave him a smile as wide as was possible for one in his sorry state and snuggled into Thorin's embrace again. Thorin closed his arms around the small body and buried his face in the golden hair.

"I'm hungry," Frerin muttered into Thorin's fur collar.  
>Thorin released him from the embrace with a chuckle. "Let us see to your arm first, so the bones stay where they are." He had a few bandages in his pack, and these he wrapped around Frerin's arm until it was twice as thick. Then he took one of his own vambraces and carefully buckled it around the thickly padded arm. "That should do the trick until the healers can do something better."<p>

Frerin wiped a little snot from his nose with the back of his other hand and inspected the improvised construct, but his arm was quite forgotten when Thorin produced a water bottle and a little bread and cheese from his pack. Frerin devoured the food in the blink of an eye and emptied the water bottle as well.

"More?" He blinked up at Thorin.  
>"I'm sorry, that was all I had left. But I'm sure your mother will stuff you with all sorts of titbits when she gets you back. She and your father were worried sick about you."<p>

Frerin dropped his head. "I couldn't find back."

"Why did you come here in the first place?" Thorin began to gather his things together in his pack.  
>The boy looked up again with a frown. "Me and Aki and Aín we went down here, because I said I wanted to go see <em>Adad<em> in the forge and they said they knew the way. And then they said we should see the dark tunnels. And then they said I was too small and too scared to go there. But I am not scared!"  
>Thorin frowned as well. "What happened then?"<br>"We went down the tunnels. And..." He looked down and threaded his fingers. "I was scared." Then his head flew up again in defiance. "But only a little bit!"  
>"Of course." Thorin kept a straight face. "These tunnels are dark enough to scare most people. But how did you end up in that hole?"<p>

"I fell in." Frerin looked at Thorin as if the latter was a half-wit.

"I gathered as much," Thorin replied drily. "I meant how did you end up here all alone?"

Frerin swallowed. "They said I wouldn't dare to go into a tunnel alone. Ten steps, they said, without a light. I did!" He paused and shuddered. "But then they were g-gone. I could hear them laugh, but they never came back. And I tried..." He wiped his eyes, but the tears kept coming back. "And then I tried... to find my way b-back... but it was so d-dark... and I couldn't... it was so dark and no one was there and I fell into that hole and..." His small body was suddenly wrecked by sobs.

Thorin hurried to his side and swept him up into his arms. "It'll be all right, lad. Stop your tears, little warrior, I'm here now and I will bring you home."  
>Frerin held on to him with all the strength in his undamaged arm, but the tears didn't stop.<br>"I'm not a w-warrior..." He stammered out between sobs. "I was... s-so scared and I cried and n-no warrior is scared..."

"Believe me, my boy." Thorin cradled the boy in his arms. "Warriors are scared, too. Being a warrior is not about not being scared. It's about learning how to be brave. You can't be brave without being scared."

Frerin looked up again, eyes full of tears and of desperate longing to believe Thorin's words. "But I thought warriors aren't scared...  
>"They are." Thorin brushed a few strands of hair from Frerin's face again. "They learn how to be stronger than fear. There's no shame in being afraid, Frerin. There is only shame in letting that fear rule you and dictate your actions."<br>After a moment, Frerin nodded and looked up at Thorin again. "I want to be brave like you and _Adad_."  
>"I think you are very brave already. But you have a good long while yet to learn how to be a warrior."<p>

After Thorin had put on his pack hewrapped Frerin into his fur-lined cloak and gathered him up into his arms. Following his marks, he made his way back towards the more frequented tunnels and from there, upstairs into the inhabited part of Erebor.

Finally safe and warm and fed, Frerin was about to fall asleep, rocked by Thorin's steady steps, but on the verge of drifting away, Frerin's sleepy, tired voice came muffled out of Thorin's cloak.

"Uncle Thorin?"  
>"Yes, my boy?"<br>"Do you really think I'm brave?"  
>"Very brave for someone so young in years."<p>

Thorin smiled wistfully as he rounded a corner, and heard the voice again.

"Uncle Thorin?"  
>"Yes, my lad?"<br>"Do you like me?"  
>"I do, my boy. Very much so. Why?"<br>"Because I like you too." A small and heartfelt kiss was placed on the side of Thorin's neck as a small arm was wrapped around it.

Thorin had managed to blink away the moisture in his eyes before he reached the upper levels.


End file.
